Petition Seeks Medal of Freedom for Webster Firefighters

A recently started online petition is requesting that the four West Webster firefighters shot on Christmas Eve be honored with the Medal of Freedom.

The petition was posted Dec. 28 on a government website by Paul H. It seeks the recognition for Webster Police Lt. Michael Chiapperini, Tomasz Kaczowka, Joseph Hofstetter and Theodore Scardino, the volunteer firefighters who were shot while answering a call for assistance Dec. 24, 2012.

Michael Chiapperini and Tomasz Kaczowka were killed. Joseph Hofstetter and Theodore Scardino were injured in the shooting.

The Medal of Freedom is the "nation's highest civilian honor to individuals who made especially meritorious contributions to security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors."

The petition has already received thousands of signatures. In order for it to be reviewed by a White House staff member it must receive 25,000 signatures, according to the website (http://1.usa.gov/TLIShk).